Tekken 7 Unlikely to Support Cross-Platform Multiplayer

Cross-platform multiplayer is quite a rarity in the video game industry, one that the big three – Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo – have been reluctant to dive into ever since. Games that support cross-platform multiplayer have been few in number, with Rocket League and Street Fighter V being (arguably) the two most easily recognized among the fray. The cross-platform multiplayer feature of Street Fighter V has generally been well-received, so it’s safe to daydream that other fighting games might follow suit in the near future. But don’t count on the next main installment in the similarly popular Tekken series to have the feature.

Katsuhiro Harada, the big boss of the Tekken series, recently posted on Twitter that Tekken 7 is unlikely to support cross-platform multiplayer. In the post, which was translated by Flying Wonkey from AvoidingThePuddle, Harada says that bringing Tekken 7 to the cross-platform multiplayer party is “not a matter of the technology for getting the PS4/XB1/PC players to match up against each other being the issue, but rather first party company policies and potential security risks alongside the community perceived reputation of PC gamers being cheaters that is hindering the decision to allow cross platform play”.

Of course, his statement isn’t a jab that PC gamers are cheaters. It’s just that the PC is more open to mods and hacks than home consoles are, which immediately brings forth the credibility of matches. Having consistently clean fights may require a team of eagle-eyed moderators, which, in turn, requires additional resources a.k.a. more paychecks to write. The first part of Harada’s (translated) post isn’t actually all that surprising, given that other games have managed to pull off cross-platform multiplayer before, in the technical sense. Tekken 7 is still in development, though, so there’s still time for Harada to change his mind.

Will we ever see widespread cross-platform multiplayer?

Unless Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all come to the consensus that video games are best enjoyed when there are no divides that keep players from truly matching up with the best of the best, the possibility of widespread cross-platform multiplayer still remains murky. One of the major hurdles possibly holding them back is the issue of the exclusivity of games in their platforms.

Although Street Fighter V has shown that big-name games can safely deploy cross-platform multiplayer, the game isn’t exactly fully committed – it only allows cross-platform play between the PC and PS4. Perhaps if other popular franchises dive into it – like Call of Duty – the chances of widespread cross-platform multiplayer will significantly go up.